Summertime Blues

Eddie Cochran may never have sung Summertime Blues had he grown up living in this section of Broward County. Throughout the year, Coral Springs, Margate, North Lauderdale, Coconut Creek and Tamarac offer a bounty of sports and recreational activities. In the summer, the activity seems to increase because there are now hundreds of youths running around with time on their hands. The following is a list of events scheduled for this summer. It is by no means a complete list. Other events are only tentatively scheduled.

Everyone spends their summers differently. Every summer is an opportunity to create lasting memories, and we all want to have a summer to remember. These classic summer songs express how special summer really is. "Summergirls" by LFO- During the summer, we throw our schedules away and end up meeting people that we would never have had the chance to meet otherwise. These people stay special to us because they share a memory and feeling that we don't share with the people in our everyday lives.

"Well I'm a-gonna raise a fuss, I'm a-gonna raise a holler About workin' all summer just to try an' earn a dollar ... Sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do Cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues." - country singer Alan Jackson, in remake of song by Eddie Cochran

President Obama can't seem to catch a break. He's heading to the island of Martha's Vineyard for vacation, but so is Hurricane Bill. The big storm may brush the Atlantic Coast, bringing even more wind and rain into the president's life. It has been a rough summer for Obama. The economy continues to wobble, the Afghan war is brutal, and the health care chaos has diminished the president in the eyes of many Americans. His leadership on that vital issue has been inconsistent and, at times, downright confusing.

Got the summertime blues? Take heart. All our lives are about to have more meaning. Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami has a premiere date. The latest reality saga featuring the Kardashians will debut on E! on Aug. 16 at 10 p.m. The late time is so that the millions sure to cancel all other plans to be in front of their TV will not hurt the movie and restaurant business that night. If you have no idea who Khloe, Kourtney or any of the Kardashians are, ask the dumbest person you know. He or she will be able to fill you in. Just don't ask who the president and vice president are.

The saga of 1950s rockabilly star Eddie Cochran is headed for the big screen -- again. You might recall that Rob Lowe was developing a Cochran biopic as a vehicle for himself about six years ago. It didn`t pan out. Then Kiefer Sutherland was lined up to play the heartthrob whose sensational career ended when he died at age 22 in a 1960 car crash. Those plans also collapsed. Now Top Gun writers Jim Cash and Jack Epps have created a fresh version of the story called Summertime Blues, which Epps will likely direct and Frank Price will produce for Savoy Pictures in `93. The Cochran role is up for grabs.

Everyone spends their summers differently. Every summer is an opportunity to create lasting memories, and we all want to have a summer to remember. These classic summer songs express how special summer really is. "Summergirls" by LFO- During the summer, we throw our schedules away and end up meeting people that we would never have had the chance to meet otherwise. These people stay special to us because they share a memory and feeling that we don't share with the people in our everyday lives.

-- Surfin` U.S.A. (1963) "If everybody had an ocean Across the U.S.A. Then everybody`d be surfin` like Californ-I-A ..." Nobody does summer quite like the Beach Boys. During the `60s, their odes to summer came one after another, like waves on their beloved California beach. Known for their blended harmonies (and for borrowing heavily from Chuck Berry guitar riffs), the California quintet gave us good-time favorites like Surfin` Safari; Fun, Fun, Fun and Little Deuce Coupe. As for Surfin` U.S.A.

Got the summertime blues? Take heart. All our lives are about to have more meaning. Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami has a premiere date. The latest reality saga featuring the Kardashians will debut on E! on Aug. 16 at 10 p.m. The late time is so that the millions sure to cancel all other plans to be in front of their TV will not hurt the movie and restaurant business that night. If you have no idea who Khloe, Kourtney or any of the Kardashians are, ask the dumbest person you know. He or she will be able to fill you in. Just don't ask who the president and vice president are.

Once upon a time a rocker named Eddie Cochran sang, "There ain't no cure for the summertime blues." Clearly, he wasn't talking about travel, because even though air fares and hotel costs are rising and the price of gasoline is high, there are ways to save on summer travel. Here, with input from discount travel site Hotwire.com, are a few ways to cure the summertime travel blues: Find the road less traveled: Visit places off-season, such as big cities, or destinations most popular in cooler weather.

Catching a mess of bluegills has never been easier, thanks to the low water level at Lake Okeechobee. Bluegills have been confined to certain areas for their late spring and summer spawning. If you can get to those areas, you can have a field day. "The last time I was up here," said Andre Eggelletion of Lauderhill, "we had our limit in three hours." That's two people catching 100 bluegills in 180 minutes. That's good fishing. With a full moon on Thursday, the fishing should be excellent this coming week.

OK, so we're cranking in to those last precious weeks of summer, but some of you are probably bored already. Never fear - we've got your summertime roundup right here. Here's what you need to squeeze those last laughs out of your vacation: THEME PARK, FOR GENESIS AND 3DO - What says summer fun more loudly than a trip to a theme park? OK, maybe a guy with a megaphone. But here's a game that will let you find out everything you ever wanted to know about running an amusement park. You pick the rides (you even design some of 'em)